Howmanybutts

Howmanybutts t1_its7t97 wrote

The complicated part is that he did foundational and important work in the field of ontology and other areas of Philosophy, while being a morally viscous person. No one here is arguing his moral and political choices are complicated, they are simply and directly abhorrent - and we should acknowledge them as such.

Lets say a mathematician is a horrible person, a nazi even in this case. Yet they make a discovery of an equation that is highly valuable and even ground braking. The acknowledgment of the significance of the math they discovered shouldn't be thrown away because of their horrific moral and personal life. The two can be divorced as long as their moral character is remembered. The discovery in itself can be celebrated and praised for its own use, while simultaneously condemning the person who discovered it. The same here is being said of Heidegger.

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